Critical surface wave velocity near phase transitions

The temperature dependent Rayleigh wave velocity is discussed for crystals with a surface layer of depth equal to the correlation length, ξ, with special reference to a critical region near phase transitions. For finite qξ the Rayleigh wave velocity reflects the specific critical properties of the surface layer. Under such conditions the temperature dependence of Rayleigh waves cannot be predicted on the temperature dependence of constants. A phenomenological analysis is made for qξ ≦? 1. Experimental results on SrTiO₃ show bulk-dominated critical Rayleigh wave velocities due to the short correlation length in this material.